Vice

by Rosanna Leo

  “Aren’t you hungry?” Liam reached for a cracker piled high with pink caviar and playfully held it up to her. “Open up.”

  Despite her nerves, which ratcheted up a notch each second, she opened her mouth and accepted the cracker. She kept a bashful hand over her mouth as she chewed, and then wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

  He grinned as she swallowed, leaning in to whisper, “You’re sexy when you eat. Now I’ll be dreaming of feeding you all night long.” His tongue darted out and he moistened his lips. “Or maybe I’ll do something about it.”

  “All I did was eat a cracker.”

  “I know. Wait until I feed you my cock.”

  Kate gasped, hoping the person next to them hadn’t overheard. Liam chuckled, clearly unconcerned.

  “Doyle, aren’t you going to get this pretty lady a drink? She looks parched.”

  Kate looked at the newcomer, a tall man with buzzed blond hair and sex in his smile.

  Liam shook the man’s hand. “If I leave her alone with you, you’ll carry her away. Kate Callender, meet Alex Markov. He’s a total shark so make sure he doesn’t lure you into any dark corners.”

  “Don’t tempt me, my friend.” Markov reached for her hand and kissed it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kate.”

  Under other circumstances, the pleasure might be all hers. Markov, blessed with an intimidating build, much like Liam, oozed an old-world charm despite his youthful appearance. “Likewise. How do you know each other?”

  “Alex and I go way back. We apprenticed at the same building company together. He headed north. Owns a few nightclubs in New York.”

  “They pale in comparison to your casinos,” said Markov.

  Liam grinned. “You’re such a bullshitter. Don’t listen to a word he says, Kate. He acts all modest, but contractors cringe when they have to go into a meeting with him. He makes them shit their pants.”

  Markov’s eyes narrowed, but other than that he seemed content with the description. “My standards are no less exacting than your own.”

  “True. So what brings you back from New York?”

  “I’ve been scoping out potential sites. Thinking of doing some work here in Vegas.”

  Kate listened as the pair talked shop for a few minutes. So, Alex Markov knew Liam as a young man. She might have to corner him and see if she could pry some information loose.

  As they chatted, Alex glanced at her direction, his lips curled in clear interest. Despite their obvious friendship and his professional regard for the other man, Liam stood close to her, hand locked about her waist, a signal to his friend she was taken. His possessiveness was sweet and made her want to curl into him.

  He might have his moods, but he did seem to care for her.

  As the evening wore on, he introduced her to what felt like half the attendees. She shook hands with his associates and competitors alike, noting one similarity between everyone: every single person in the ballroom was filthy rich. Once again, her nerves got the better of her, and she found herself hanging in the background each time someone cornered Liam for a conversation. She had nothing to offer as far as chit chat went anyway. No, she hadn’t seen the new production of Swan Lake at the Nevada Ballet Theater. No, she was not related to the Callenders of Cape Cod. And no, she really didn’t want to participate in the casino games in the adjoining room.

  A couple of hours had dragged by, and she realized she was holding her breath a lot. The more she tried to fit in with these people, the more she stood out. And because she was there with Liam, everyone wanted to know her business. She’d never been the sort to feel ashamed of her background, but tonight she felt a little like Molly Ringwald trying to fit in with the rich kids.

  Her emotions only compounded whenever Liam did anything remotely sweet or considerate. He covered her shoulders with a shawl and her palms began to sweat. He introduced her to VIPs as if she were more important than he was, and heat streaked across her chest. Each kiss from him, each slow dance, made her feel like more of a hypocrite.

  Liam led her to yet another group of people whose wealth seemed to drip from their fingers and necks. A couple of the women in this glamorous huddle eyed her from top to bottom as they approached, their waxed brows arching and their lips curling. That was when the churning in her gut finally did her in. Her stomach pitched and she almost tasted the bile that crept up her throat.

  Liam stopped in his tracks. “Kate, are you okay?”

  “I can’t do this,” she whispered. “I can’t be here. They don’t have a clue, Liam. Can’t you see it? They have no clue what it’s like in the real world. I know, and you know, but they don’t.”

  “Kate, I get it. I’d rather be throwing back a beer with Beck and Nolan, but a lot of good can come from an event like this. Remember, it’s for charity. That’s good, right?”

  She shuffled on her feet. “I suppose, but…”

  “Kate, you belong here as much as anyone.”

  She plucked at the billowy skirt on her gown. “No, I don’t. I shouldn’t have let you buy me these things. I’m no better than my father, taking money from others.”

  The muscles in Liam’s cheeks clenched. He pulled her aside. “Don’t talk like that. Look, I can afford the dress and the jewelry. And if I want to spend money on you, I will. Why can’t you accept that?”

  “Maybe because we still barely know each other.” She fingered the diamond bracelet he’d insisted on making her wear, even if it was a rental. “It feels a bit early for diamonds.”

  “You deserve to wear nice things.” He ran a hand through his hair, messing up his slicked-back coif. “I enjoyed it.”

  “I told you when we met I couldn’t be bought, Liam. I meant what I said.”

  He stared at her, and his eyebrow arched. “Exactly what do you think I’m trying to buy? Your cooperation? Your affection? Your body?”

  Liam’s voice had risen but he didn’t seem to notice the heads turning in their direction. Heat lip up Kate’s face, no doubt echoing the angry flare on his own cheeks.

  “I just…I don’t understand what we’re doing. You and me. What’s happening between us?”

  “Why do you have to question it?”

  “Because someone has to, and it’s clearly not you.”

  Liam’s gaze swept over her like the beam from a lighthouse, illuminating a black sea, searching her personal darkness. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the ballroom.

  They passed people on their furious dash, but Kate saw only the back of Liam’s head, and the way his muscles moved under his tuxedo jacket as he dragged her along.

  She’d never been so entranced by another person.

  Liam tried a couple of doors down the long conference room hallway, only to find them locked. He cursed.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  He said nothing, his face still grim. Eventually he tried a door marked “Piazza Room” and it opened. He pulled her in and closed the door, locking it behind them.

  He turned on her and backed her up to the marble-top boardroom table. The edge of the table met with her bottom and she gasped.

  Stepping close, invading any sense of personal space she had in the moment, he curled his fingers around her neck. “You asked what we’re doing. You want to know what’s happening between us? I don’t fucking know. You think it doesn’t scare the shit out of me too?”

  “I never said you were scaring me.”

  His face crumpled. “Do you think I can’t see it all over your face? I terrify you because I want you so much. Don’t you understand what you do to me? I ache when I’m not inside you. My hands shake when I can’t touch you. And to hear you put yourself down makes my brain want to explode. You’re worth a hundred of those people out there.”

  On his last, hushed sentence, her body tensed. Despite his frantic demeanor, he mad
e her want him. Now. Her silky underpants felt as comfortable as a burlap thong. He moved his large hands over her shoulders and she bit her tongue, imagining his fingers parting her folds and diving deep.

  His face rested so close to hers, his lips a hair’s breadth away. “Surrender to me. Right here, right now. Give yourself to me.”

  Kate nodded, worried, but overcome by hunger. Liam picked her up and sat her on the boardroom table. He urged her to lie back and she did, watching as he unzipped his pants and found a condom. Once sheathed, his eyes glinted as he pushed up her skirt, pulled aside her underwear and slid two fingers into her. She cried out, arching her back at his less-than-gentle yet perfect touch. His fingers moved inside her with a unique grace, marking her, stretching her, getting her ready for him.

  She wanted him like this—rough and demanding.

  When he was satisfied with her almost-shameful level of lubrication, he removed his hand. Positioning his cock at her entrance, he waited until their eyes met, and drove into her. Maddening thrusts made her close her eyes and bite her tongue. With each forceful thrust, he grunted, clutching at her. He spread her legs apart. Through the slit of her closed eyes, she was barely aware of her stilettos up in the air. Just the thought of someone discovering them forced her to the edge, and his movements drove her over.

  “Fuck. Kate. Fuck.” He spat his words in time with each pump.

  Her pussy clenched, tightened and sighed its release. As he came, she barreled over the precipice again, lost in the churning waters below. She opened her eyes and took in his messy hair and sweaty brow. His fresh dishevelment only heightened his allure. He shuddered and pulled out of her, clearly bashful about having given her such a forceful fucking. He pulled her into his embrace, and she went, her legs still wrapped around him.

  He buried his face in her neck and shuddered once more. “No more questions. Just be with me, okay?”

  Kate bit her trembling lip. He needed her. She needed him. Like this. Hard. Often. Victims to an unnerving passion.

  She could forget her apprehensions, couldn’t she?

  Maybe just for a while.

  Chapter Twelve

  “I told you I’d get you in my bed.”

  Kate smirked. “Don’t be so cocky, Doyle. I’m in your office, not your bed.”

  They got off his private elevator and Liam pressed a button to take it off service. No sooner had he set her bags down on the floor, Liam backed her up against the nearest wall and kissed her, letting his tongue trace her lips. “Oh, you’ll be in my bed soon enough.”

  He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Kate gasped and giggled at his insane enthusiasm. She’d never known a man with such stamina. Or was it their particular chemistry? Because God only knew she felt it too.

  Over the past few heady days, they’d barely spent a moment outside each other’s arms. Kate wasn’t the sort of person to sleep in a man’s embrace, but she’d spent her nights tangled with Liam. The first thing he’d done upon waking this morning was gaze into her eyes, as if he saw great mysteries there, then reached a hand between her legs, pleased by the answers he’d found.

  He’d taken her before their room-service breakfast and again afterward. They hadn’t stopped. They didn’t seem to know how.

  Sure, it still felt strange to be part of such emotional fire, but she asked no more questions, as he’d requested.

  And now, as he’d gently threatened not long ago, he’d moved her to his office suite. She hadn’t argued, figuring he could now make some revenue from booking her suite.

  He turned the corner and led her to a room she hadn’t seen before, his bedroom. Once inside, he set her down, patting her derriere. “Here we are.”

  Kate took a moment to look around. This was where Liam slept when he stayed at the hotel, his home away from home. In many ways, the room was as luxurious as she would have expected, but it held a few surprises.

  A tinted floor-to-ceiling window made up the wall on one side, with an ideal view of the Strip’s lights. A flat-screen TV ornamented the wall opposite the bed. The door to the large walk-in closet hung open in the corner, where she spied countless pressed shirts and a rack full of navy blue ties. She giggled, realizing now she’d never seen him wear any other color. “What’s with the navy ties?”

  “A long time ago, my mentor in the building industry told me about the importance of a strong image. That was back before I had any kind of image. ‘Wear a navy tie’ he said. ‘Whenever you walk into a room, people will think you own it.’ When I put on those ties, I forget the scared kid I used to be.”

  Kate sensed an opening and prodded for more info. “Tell me more about this mentor. Who was he?”

  “It’s not important anymore.” With a determined set to his jaw, he’d shut her down once again.

  She decided to forget about it for now. Instead, she took in the rest of the space. The room was decorated in shades of slate grey and black, modern and sleek. The bed itself was simple, king-sized with black sheets, but its setting made her gasp. Three built-in steps led to its raised platform, and the short wall adjacent to it housed a long gas fireplace. Liam walked over to the wall and pressed a button. Flames shot down the length of the fireplace. At a glance, it seemed as if the footboard was made of fire.

  She shook her head, awed at this dream bedroom.

  Liam blushed. “I know. It’s extravagant, but the architect insisted on the fireplace. I don’t use it much. It’s Vegas, after all. I can turn it off if you want.”

  “No. It’s incredible.” She smiled at him. Somehow this room was the perfect symbol of his success in life, in spite of the odds.

  Liam came over and took her in his embrace. They stood there, wrapped up in each other, when his desk phone rang. Liam groaned.

  “I’d better get that.”

  She moved over to the fireplace and stared at the gentle flames as he answered his call. Feeling its heat, she closed her eyes and dreamed.

  Moments later, he stood behind her, brushing her hair aside and kissing her shoulder. He turned her around and then he kissed her forehead. “A few things need my attention, I’m afraid. I’ll have to ravish you later.”

  Though she’d never admit it to him, she was glad for a breather. “I understand.”

  “I can do my work from here. I have a spare laptop if you want to check emails or surf.”

  “It’s okay. I should check my messages, but I can use my phone.”

  “Help yourself to anything in the fridge. I’ll just be a couple of hours.” He smiled and went to a tidy workspace tucked into another corner of the massive bedroom.

  Overwhelmed from seeing how he lived, how he worked, Kate meandered back to the front room. Letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, she sat on the couch where she and Liam had first talked.

  It was so easy to forget his wealth when they were twisted in the sheets, just a man and a woman, but every time she was shown a new corner of his life, she felt winded. If her dad or that loan shark Vaughan ever got wind of her being here, the demands for money would never stop.

  She touched the skin under her bruised eye, glad it felt better, but the memory of Vaughan touching her made her bristle with fear and shame. If he found her…

  No. She was safe here with Liam. Not that she could stay forever, but for now she had sanctuary.

  Thinking of Vaughan caused Kate to remember Lisa. Although Kate hadn’t shared the details of the attack yet, she had let her friend know she’d be away for a few days and not to worry. She’d told her to put Rod in charge of the New Horizons meetings until she got back. She didn’t want to keep her friends in the dark about the attack, but didn’t relish the idea of rehashing it just yet.

  However, she did want to talk to Lisa about seeing Donny at Vice. Nervous, Kate retrieved her phone from her purse and began typing a text. Changing h
er mind, she dialed Lisa’s number, wanting to hear her voice instead.

  Voicemail.

  Lisa always picked up when she called. But as the recorded message ended, Kate couldn’t help wondering if her friend might be avoiding her.

  “Hey Lisa. It’s me. I really need to talk to you. A lot’s happened.” She paused, not wanting to elaborate over voicemail. “Please call me back. Take care.” She felt a twinge of unease in her stomach. Within seconds, her unease turned to all-out worry.

  She didn’t have much time to contemplate the sensation. As she held her phone, it buzzed and she picked it up quickly, hoping Lisa was on the other line. “Hello?”

  There was no answer.

  “Hello?”

  Still nothing, but the memory of Hugo Vaughan’s face haunted her.

  “Did you say something, Kate?” Liam called from the other room.

  She fought to master her erratic breathing and shaky voice. “Just making some calls.” Liam nodded and went back to work.

  “Who is this?” she whispered into the phone.

  The line went dead. She browsed the call log and found the last number, no caller ID. She dialed it and waited, but a recorded voice came on, providing no further information. Even still, she called Detective Baxter and gave him the number, in case it should lead to Vaughan.

  She knew in her bones the loan shark had called her. However, her reasonable side reminded her it could very well have been a wrong number.

  Nevertheless, she turned off her phone and slipped it back in her purse. She knew she should tell Liam about the call, but couldn’t bring herself to disturb him. She’d taken him away from his work long enough as it was. Besides, he continued to choose to withhold information from her. Now she felt like doing the same.

  Instead, she turned on the TV, curled up on the sofa, and stared at the screen.

  As morning sun gave way to a rare drizzly afternoon, Liam closed his last document, eager to finish his work. It had taken all his willpower to focus on emails and make decisions, when all he wanted was to retrieve Kate from the other room and drag her into his bed. Now he could. He ignited the fireplace. The warm glow from its flames cast a soft light over his darkening bedroom. It might be piss-pouring outside, but inside it was toasty warm.